“Where are they now” is back with today’s focus on former Badger linebacker Chris Borland.
Borland came to Wisconsin as a three-star athlete and was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1093 overall prospect in the class of 2009, the No. 66 athlete and the No. 59 player from his home state of Ohio.
I think it’s safe to say recruiters underestimated Borland just a bit before he began his college career.
Now, why do I say that?
First of all, he was recently named to Big Ten Network’s All-Decade first team. Second of all, he finished his college career with honors including Big Ten freshman of the year, third-team All-America as a sophomore, three straight Big Ten championships, three first team All-Big Ten nods and finally first-team All-America and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year as a senior.
Third of all, watch this video. These guys say all that needs to be said about Borland’s impressive college career.
"Chris Borland was, simply put, one of the greatest tacklers in the history of the Big Ten."
The voters tell you why @BadgerFootball great Chris Borland made the #BTNAllDecade Team.
More ➡️ https://t.co/9sK1meTjeO pic.twitter.com/cNjYSoLKVf
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) June 29, 2020
Quotes that stick out:
“Wherever the ball was you’d find Chris Borland.”
“He was really unblockable.”
“When Chris Borland hit you, you didn’t keep going forward. You either stood still or you fell backwards, most likely the latter.”
“Chris Borland, simply put, was one of the greatest tacklers in the history of the Big Ten.”
Former Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller even called him the most challenging defender he had to face during his time playing in the Big Ten.
Praise looking back is one thing, but if we want to go to the numbers the Ohio native finished his college career with 420 total tackles (including a whopping 143 during his redshirt sophomore season), 50 tackles-for-loss, 17 sacks, three interceptions and nine forced fumbles.
His collegiate work was enough to hear his name called in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
His rookie season in the NFL began with him a backup until an injury in Week 7 saw the former Badger rise to a starting role.
The rest of that season, then, is history.
Borland’s final rookie tally included eight starts, 108 tackles, 12 tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
In late December, unfortunately, the former Badger was placed on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Honors from his rookie season include Defensive Rookie of the Month for November, NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 11 and Pepsi Rookie of the Week in Weeks 10 and 11.
As anybody who has followed Borland’s path knows, he then decided to step away from the game due to the concern of head trauma and retired on March 16, 2015.
ESPN The Magazine wrote an in-depth piece that August detailing Borland’s decision to retire and what he planned to do about the NFL’s ongoing concussion issue, calling him “the most dangerous man in football.”
After retirement the Ohio native was outspoken about his decision to retire and worked hard to bring awareness to the issue of brain trauma related to playing football, one initiative being with a non-profit focused on helping veterans with PTSD and athletes with concussions named After the Impact Fund.
Today he is a neuroscience student at King’s College in London, England and teaches for SearchInsideYourself, a Google nonprofit which “teaches practical mindfulness, emotional intelligence and leadership tools to unlock [somebody’s] full potential at work and in life.”
The path has been an unorthodox one for Borland, and it is clear that his work with brain trauma and concussions is far from over.